


Fallen Star AU (collab with Klicicle) | Save One: Underground

by Blizzard_IceDragon, Klicicle



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: All UT Routes Spoiler Warning, Collaboration, Undertale Spoiler Warning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-12-15
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27409732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blizzard_IceDragon/pseuds/Blizzard_IceDragon, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klicicle/pseuds/Klicicle
Summary: Chapter One - ResetAuthor: BlizzardLoading story...
Relationships: Alphys/Undyne (Undertale)
Kudos: 1





	1. Reset

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter One - Reset
> 
> Author: Blizzard
> 
> Loading story...

"..."

"..."

"so... guess that's it, huh?"

"don't say i didn't warn ya."

"..."

"welp. i'm going to grillby's."

Frisk's hand trembled as they watched the bleeding comedian skeleton limp off to the side. They gripped their knife tighter.

"papyrus, do you want anything...?"

A tear rolled down their face as they clenched their teeth, their knuckles turning white due to still holding the knife very tightly. The image of a certain tall, goofy skeleton wearing his battle body and great red scarf with his arms spread wide open flashed before their eyes.

A soft dusting noise brushed Frisk's ears from behind. Not too long afterwards, they felt their LOVE increase again.

\---------------------------

CHARA LV 20 HP 99/99

\---------------------------

 _I've done it,_ they whispered to themselves.

_I've killed him. I've... committed a true genocide at last._

They slowly loosened their grip on the knife and fell to their knees trembling. They buried their face in their hands and began to sob.

 **Why the crying?** A voice called to them. **You've done it.**

*I know,* Frisk choked out. *I've killed everyone. Even - even Sans...*

 **And what, now you feel bad?** The other voice pressed.

Frisk turned their gaze to the cracked tile floor with a slight nod.

**Don't worry about the rest of it. I'll take over from there on. You can just sit back and relax.**

Frisk slowly relaxed and stopped trembling as they felt a strange aura pass over their entire body and take full control. Without any prompt from themselves, their body picked the knife back up firmly and stood up.

**You've done a great job, partner.**

**Now let me finish it -**

A blue-and-white blur suddenly knocked them over from behind. Frisk felt claws digging into their back, piercing through their tough shirt and poking at the skin underneath. The mysterious aura screeched and twisted Frisk's body around until their back now pressed against the floor, knocking the claws off their back.

Once their back hit the floor, though, a blue paw slammed down against their chest, blazing blue claws unsheathed. The blue slowly faded to white as Frisk looked up the creature's arm. Their body was a snowy white color, their facial features almost... skeletal. This creature's eyes were peculiar yet familiar, with a blazing blue left eye and a round white right eye, the sclerae of both black. Tears formed in the corners of each eye, and their teeth were clenched in a dry snarl. They somewhat resembled the form of a cat, though the insides of each ear were the same shade of blue as its paws and long, flowing scarf.

"YOU KILLED THEM!" They screeched with a voice filled with pain, anger, and grief. "YOU KILLED EVERYONE!" A tear rolled down the side of their face as they raised a burning blue paw.

Frisk had never seen this monster down here before. Not in previous runs, not hidden on the side, not _ever._ This was a strange enigma.

Apparently the being controlling Frisk's body didn't care, because they slashed upwards with their knife and threw the other creature off. The blue blaze flickered and died, reducing to little sparks next to the user's paw. Frisk's body leaped back off the ground and raced towards the opponent, ready to deliver yet another killing blow.

Luckily for the opponent, they dodged out of the way in time and disappeared in a flurry of blue wisps.

 **They got away,** the voice growled. Was it... confused? **Never mind. Let's just end this all.**

**\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Greetings. I am Chara.**

**Thank you. Your power awakened me from death.**

**My "human soul." My "determination."**

**They were not mine, but YOURS.**

**At first, I was so confused. Our plan had failed, hadn't it?**

**Why was I brought back to life?**

**...** Chara stopped and turned to Frisk, as if pointing a spectral finger towards the other fallen human with their eyes.

**You.**

**With your guidance.**

**I realized the purpose of my reincarnation.**

**Power.**

Frisk started to tremble. Whether it was from sadness or from fear, they couldn't tell.

**Together, we eradicated the enemy and became strong. HP. ATK. DEF. GOLD. EXP. LV.**

**Every time a number increases, that feeling...**

**That's me.**

**"Chara."**

**Now. Now, we have reached the absolute.**

**There is nothing left for us here.**

**Let us erase this pointless world, and move on to the next.**

*No.* Frisk tried their best to stay firm. Killing everyone was horrific enough. But _erasing the world?_ Unthinkable. That was more insane than successfully finishing off a genocide. *Chara, I won't do it. I will not erase this world.*

Chara frowned. **No? Hmm. How curious.**

**You must have misunderstood.**

Frisk gulped and prepared for the worst.

**SINCE WHEN WERE YOU THE ONE IN CONTROL?**

Chara swiped a hand forward and slashed Frisk across the chest, executing a successful kill. 9's flashed in front of Frisk's eyes, sending them back to the load screen.

Frisk shook their head and rubbed their eyes. _I need to go back._

They stepped back in only to find themselves in an empty void with nothing but the sound of howling wind.

Frisk brushed themselves off and sat on the floor with crossed legs.

*I can be patient,* Frisk told themselves. *I can wait.*

They stared off into the distance for what seemed like eternity, wondering. _What should I have done? I should've reset a long time ago. What if the Underground doesn't forgive me? What will happen when I reset?_

Then they blinked. There was something painfully obvious they should have thought more about. _Why can't I hear or see Chara?_

They sighed. *Either way,* Frisk huffed, *I'm filled with DETERMINATION. There has to be some way to reset the timeline, and I'm going to find out how.*

They attempted to ask the endless black void to open up the save screen. When that didn't work, they started yelling into the void, calling the name of the first fallen human.

But nobody came.

Frisk sat on the floor with a defeated sigh. All of their efforts, even if small, were to no avail. They began to let go of their determination and give up.

Suddenly a voice called from the void.

**You're still here.**

*Chara,* Frisk whispered. Perhaps they had heard Frisk calling out their name after all.

**I suppose that means you want to return. Even though you've seen every ending, every outcome, every little detail.**

Frisk braced themselves again.

Chara's voice seemed to sigh from afar. **Are you truly done tearing this world apart?**

*No,* Frisk quietly responded.

**Do you truly think you are above consequences?**

Frisk thought carefully before answering. *No.*

**Hmm. Then why is it that you so badly want to return? To a world you have already destroyed with your constant resets?**

Frisk felt a fizzle of hope in their fingers like lightning was traveling between the gaps. It felt encouraging.

**If you seriously think you can SAVE the world we ERASED, you can certainly try.**

*Yes, I can,* Frisk replied, holding out their hand and summoning the SAVE screen buttons with a snap.

**What the -**

\--------------------------------------------

CHARA LV-- HP--/--

*CONTINUE *RESET

\--------------------------------------------

**How is this possible?**

Frisk smirked and slammed their hand over the RESET button.

**NO! YOU WON'T -**

*Reset successful.

**\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

Frisk landed in the Ruins once again, sitting on the bed of yellow flowers.

*The reset worked,* Frisk whispered to themselves. *I can't believe it worked.*

They got up and brushed themselves off. _Off to meet Flowey._

But when they reached the little grass patch where Flowey would usually pop up and "teach" them how to battle, the soulless yellow flower was nowhere to be seen.

Frisk poked around at the grass and even started stamping at it with a foot, but not even a yellow petal was in sight.

The human blinked. _Did my reset cause something to go wrong? Was I supposed to be able to reset there? Was my determination strong enough to affect the timeline? Or is Flowey just scared of me?_

 _I need to check and see if everything is okay._ They ran away from the field to the next room in the Ruins, their shoes making light _clack clack clack_ noises as they came into contact with the floor. They pulled every lever, solved every puzzle, even looked behind every pillar and through every tunnel. They encountered monsters like Froggit and Whimsun, but they didn't encounter a certain fluffy boss monster.

In fact, Toriel was nowhere to be seen.

Frisk started to tremble. If both Flowey and Toriel weren't here...

 _Did I prematurely_ kill _them with my reset?_

Whatever it was, something was definitely wrong with the timeline.

_Chara was - no, I refuse to believe Chara was right._

_This timeline isn't flawed._

_It's just me._

They burst past the closed Ruins doors and into Snowdin, met by a chilly wind. They either dodged past or quickly solved all the puzzles scattered across the open fields and narrow passageways, making sure this time to definitely spare every monster they encountered.

Snowdin Town was lively as Frisk remembered in their first few runs, when they spared everyone in Snowdin. They tore past everyone's stares and even the bright yellow SAVE point sitting next to the shop.

Papyrus stood a little ways before his house on the path, his short red scarf billowing in the chilly breeze. As he saw Frisk racing over, he turned and waved a red gloved hand.

"WHY HELLO THERE!" He greeted, giving Frisk a bright skeleton smile. "WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE PROBLEM? YOU LOOK LIKE YOU'RE IN A HURRY -"

Without any warning, his white monster soul appeared in front of him, and something that resembled red-and-black tentacles snapped themselves around it. The tentacles pulled backwards on the soul, making Papyrus follow the movement without any choice.

Behind the tall skeleton stood two beings outlined in red. Both stepped out into view. Frisk gasped. Papyrus let out a small yelp.

One of them was Chara, their small red eyes glittering and smile wide and bright. They held a knife that seemed to be completely made of faded magic in one hand, the other running a finger over the sharp edge of the knife in a creepy manner.

The second one outlined in red looked like the monster Frisk/Chara had battled in the Final Corridor in the previous timeline, but slightly inverted. Their paws were a bloody red, fading to black as it went up the leg. The entire rest of their body was black, their white ear-tips and nose being the only exception. Instead of a blazing blue left eye this monster's right eye blazed red, like the insides of their ears. Their red scarf held multiple tears throughout, from the segment wrapped around their neck to the flowing piece behind. As Frisk looked closer, this new monster's left thigh had an altered Delta Rune emblazoned on it, and on their right thigh Frisk saw a glimpse of what looked like the shape of a soul broken in half, like a broken heart symbol often used on the surface. Frisk shivered.

" **Oh, Frisk,** " Chara crowed, their voice echoing after the words spilled out of their mouth, " **that may have been some good trick you pulled on me. However...** " They turned and locked eyes with the other monster to their left, who grinned an evil bloody smile. " **I am stronger than before. You and your nasty tricks will no longer stop me this time.** "

The new monster unsheathed their blazing red claws with a loud _shing!_ and leaped at Frisk, paws trailing with a red mist that looked almost like drops of blood. Frisk just stood there wide-eyed, remembering the blue flame in the first new monster's paw and eye with a flash. They wanted to move but were too scared to move, their eyes fixed on the approaching death monster.

Something yanked on Frisk's shirt from behind, knocking the breath out of them and pulling them backwards like Papyrus just was.

"Are you nuts?" A voice laced with furious bewilderment whispered from behind the human, and they recognized it immediately as the voice of the blue catlike monster in the Last Corridor.

"nope." A more familiar, deeper voice answered in a low tone, and the grip on Frisk's shirt loosened and transferred to their right arm. What felt like segmented, bony fingers squeezed against Frisk's arm and made them gulp. Sans. "get us outta here."

"Fine." A paw laced with claws gripped Frisk's left shoulder tightly and applied a small amount of pressure as it pushed off downwards. A flurry of blue sparks materialized in front of Frisk's eyes, only allowing them to see two looks of hatred from the human and their new partner, and one look of surprise and fear from the skeleton, before their entire vision was clouded in blue.

Frisk was barely aware that they were being teleported.

And Sans was with them, along with the blue cat monster.

_I'm gonna really have a bad time, aren't I?_


	2. Suspicions and Guilt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two - Suspicions and Guilt
> 
> Author: Flake
> 
> Loading story...

After the teleport, Frisk fell on the dark grass of someplace unfamiliar and dim, the glittering crystals shining above. Blue attacks in the form of bones rose out of the ground, making Frisk’s limbs and body stay still. The human looked up and saw Sans and the real cat-like monster from the last timeline in front of them. Same as always, the cat had white fur. A blue gradient faded towards their paws, and two different, blue patterns sat on their hind legs. On the left was the Delta Rune. The right, a blue soul. Sweat rolled down Frisk’s face as they watched one of them turn to the other with an annoyed expression.

“Why did I have to teleport the human, Sans?” the cat hissed slightly, black eartips low.

“hey, you need the practice.” the skeleton said, shrugging. Frisk peered at the new face and checked their stats as they talked to one another.

*Starsoul 10 ATK 30 DEF

*Somehow, she’s aware you reset.

That made no sense to them. How did she know? Could this monster have fallen from the surface with determination and stayed here while they were away from Mount Ebott? The two monsters’ bickering continued. Frisk took the time to observe the new area. The fake stars, the cold atmosphere, the dimness, the rushing of water, and the rocky floor told them that they were in Waterfall. The room housed a few puddles and a flowerbed of echo flowers. They looked well taken care of. The human decided to listen in on the monsters’ conversation. 

“...and that’s why you should have done it!”

“but i didn’t want to put any BACKBONE into it.”

“That doesn’t give you an excuse to make me use up one of the few teleports I have!”

“alright, alright, i’m sorry."

After a small pause, Sans spoke up. “can i talk to the human privately? i want to ask them a few things.”

Starsoul nodded. “Go ahead. I’ll keep watch around the entrance to this place, which isn’t too far from here. Find me when you’re done.” She mewed before prodding off. The human, now alone with someone they’ve killed before, sat there in nervousness. The few echo flowers repeated a few words ominously as waterfall noises continued in the background.

“Human.”

“Privately.”

“Watch.”

“Ask.”

Sans’s smile had already fallen by the time he looked over, his left eye glowing blue and yellow. “i have a BONE to pick with you. did you cause this odd event? because i don’t think we’re EVEN from last time, you dirty brother killer.” he said, snapping and summoning two large gaster blasters behind him. They had their mouths open and were ready to fire at any time. Frisk shook their head furiously, not wanting to reload a save after seeing Chara with another monster they didn’t know. 

*This isn’t because of me!* they said, scared.

“and how can i trust that you’re not lying?” Sans asked, glaring. Frisk shrank a little. He had a point. They only had a story to tell, and there was no way for others to know if it was true or not. Sans was also the only one that knew about them killing everyone at one point in time. They gulped.

*At least hear me out,* the human said slowly.

Sans sighed. He blinked, releasing the blue magic holding Frisk down and trapping them in a bone cage instead. His blasters stayed in position. “fine, but you’d better explain clearly.” The human gulped. They took a deep breath and looked at their feet.

*So basically, there was a voice talking to me throughout the after you died. They took over my body after we killed you. Starsoul came and attacked me in a somewhat blind rage afterward, but the host of my body landed a strong blow on her, causing her to retreat. Later, the voice said their name was Chara and asked me for my soul so we could erase this world and go to the next one. I regretted killing everyone and wanted to reset and go back. When I refused, they landed a strong blow on me and sent me back to the load screen. What was strange, though, was the lack of the usual buttons and screen. It was just a dark void. I sat there for a while, and then heard Chara. They tried to stop me from resetting, but I gathered enough determination to reset. Afterward, I didn’t see Flowey or Toriel and rushed past the ruins. I didn’t kill anyone. When I got to Snowdin, Papyrus waved at me before being pulled back by those black and red tentacles. Then I got teleported, and you know the rest.* Frisk brought their knees to their chest and hugged them. A few tears slid down their face. *I really regret killing everyone. I’m sorry.*

Sans paused for a moment, looking deep in thought as he stared at Frisk. “tell you what, kiddo: i’ll forgive you one last time, but if you ever try murdering my brother again…” 

“Y o u ’ r e g o i n g t o h a v e a b a d t i m e .” His eye sockets were black when he said the last part of the sentence. Chills crept up Frisk’s spine. They nodded frantically. The skeleton made his blasters and bones disappear, his white pupils returning. He put his hands in his pockets. “welp. i’ll go get starsoul. stay where you are.” 

Frisk nodded again, thankful for Sans’s forgiveness. They watched him teleport away and pondered about their newfound enemy for a bit. Who was that monster next to Chara? They looked oddly similar to Starsoul, and looked like they were working with Chara. Since when did Chara get someone that would help them plan the destruction of this world? The echo flowers repeated the words “bad time” over and over and over again. Frisk stood up, walked over to the flowers and shushed them, making them stop repeating the scary threat that they heard from the skeleton. What if that mysterious monster did something horrible to Papyrus? Sans’s threat repeated itself inside Frisk’s mind without the flowers’ help. If something bad happened to the younger skeleton, Sans’s trust in Frisk would definitely drop to zero forever, and their apology would not count for anything anymore. And who exactly was Starsoul? They sat down again. The thoughts kept swirling around their mind. 

Meanwhile, Sans appeared in the dead end area of Waterfall where Monster Kid would normally jump out of the grass and protect Frisk from Undyne. “starsoul?” He was answered by the shuffling of tall grass and a white cat’s face poked out of the dark plants. She stepped out.

“Yeah?” she asked, slightly out of breath. Sans had slight suspicions, but shooed them away.

“time to go back. i sKNOW what i wanted to know.” the skeleton said, winking. “do you want me to teleport you there, or are you fine on your own?”

“Before we go, can you PAWS for a second? I want to talk to you about something.”

Sans held back laughter. “sure, i’m all EARS. what is it?”

“I don’t trust the human.”

“and why’s that?”

Starsoul hesitated. “Because they’re a human, of course! How can you believe that they won’t try to kill us?”

“i asked them earlier. they won’t.”

“How do you know if they aren’t lying?”

“i threatened them.”

“Well, what if they go and kill monsters anyway?”

“i’ll fight them, what else?”

“And if you lose?”

“then hopefully everybody else evacuated somewhere safe. why are you so worried, anyways?”

She hesitated again. “Maybe because it’s the first time I’ve encountered a human after falling down here?” Sans shrugged.

“don’t be. they haven’t killed anyone yet, have they? anyways, we can’t keep the human waiting. i’m going to ask again: are you going to go back by foot, or do you want me to teleport you?”

“I think I can manage the small, one-minute walk. I’ll catch up to you soon,” Starsoul stated.

“suit yourself.” The skeleton snapped his fingers and disappeared. The other monster turned and rushed past the tall grass, searching the walls for a specific scratch mark. Once she saw it, she looked around before stepping forward into the wall. “I’d better do this quickly.”

Sans appeared next to Frisk. “heya, kid. she should be here soon.” The human nodded. He plopped down onto the ground with Frisk. An uneasy silence made its way into the secret area. Frisk decided to speak up.

*Why did you forgive me so easily?* they asked. Sans shrugged.

“i guess i still believe that you can give us that really happy ending again.” He glanced at Frisk. “will you?”

*I’ll try my best to do that after this whole ordeal is over,* they nodded. Sans smiled and looked at the entrance to the area. Where was Starsoul? It should have taken her a minute to get over here, since the path was so straight. Frisk looked like they wanted to say more, but didn’t know if they should. He looked over and gave them a questioning glance. They said, *Don’t you think the new enemy looks like Starsoul?*

“how so?”

*They both look like the same type of monster, just with different colors. They also have the same Delta Rune symbol on their left hind leg but the new monster’s was... darker. I didn’t see the other hind leg, but I bet it has the same soul pattern as Starsoul does.*

“huh. never really thought much about how that strange monster looked.”

A few minutes of talking later, Starsoul came prodding into the area. Sans was curious of what she could have done to stall in such a short path, but assumed that she walked really slowly. She was always really patient, he thought. He motioned her over. They sat there in silence for a while, awkwardly looking away from each other. Starsoul sighed. “Are we going to discuss what we’re going to do or not?”

*Sans and I already went over a few things we should do if we ever come across the two beings again,* Frisk chirped. They found a stick on the ground somehow, even if Waterfall doesn’t have trees or shrubs, and drew a badly drawn picture of them and the enemies facing each other. *The ghost of a human from before is Chara. We don’t know who the other is.*

“Actually, I might know the new monster,” Starsoul said. The other two took their eyes off of the awful drawing and looked at her.“I have a feeling about that one, like I know them from somewhere. I can’t put my paw on it. I’ll tell you guys if I figure something out.”

*Alright, that would be a great help. For now, let’s come up with ideas to face our opponents.* They stood up and walked in front of the two monsters, then poked the badly-drawn Chara. It was just a really short stick figure that appeared to be floating. *Chara is pretty much a ghost, so physical attacks won’t do anything except annoy them.* Then they poked at the spiky ball, supposedly the new enemy. *Then there’s this being. All we know is that they use reddish-black tentacles. Any ideas, folks?*

Somehow, a cold wind blew through the cave. Silence awaited noise. Sans was shrugging, and Starsoul was staring at the bad drawings in deep thought. Frisk sighed. *Can any of your magic do anything about Chara? Like, you know, gravity magic?*

“oh yeah, we can try that.” Sans said. “but since Chara’s a dead human, i don’t think they’ll have a soul.” Frisk mentally face-palmed, remembering that their soul was absorbed by Asriel long ago.

*Right. Maybe we can mess with their head? I know a decent amount about Chara.* Sans and Starsoul just shrugged. *Then I’ll do that. Anyone have ideas about the tentacle dude?*

“How about holding down the tentacles so they can’t move as much? Then we can attack them without worrying about those.” Starsoul meowed. “Both Sans and I know how to use blue attacks, so we can also put those to good use.” They nodded. Sans’s eye sockets suddenly went dark in realization.

“we need to alert the others before thinking about how to take those two down,” he said, sweating in fear and standing up. “undyne, alphys, toriel, asgore, and other monsters may not know about the troublemakers yet. i’ll get a head start, since i can teleport indefinitely. starsoul, save your teleports and travel with the human.” The short skeleton waited for the other two’s nods of approval before disappearing with a snap. Starsoul also got up and started walking to the hall leading to the main path in Waterfall. Frisk jumped up and observed everything in the room before following the cat. As they made their way to the tall grass, the human stayed near the walls for anything that they haven’t found yet in the Underground. Starsoul looked at them funny.

“What are you doing?” she asked. Frisk realized that they were touching the walls very thoroughly, not leaving anywhere untouched. My curiosity prevailed, they thought. Oops.

*Exploring,* they said slowly. Starsoul shrugged and continued down the path, with Frisk slowly trailing behind. A scratch mark was visible on the wall further down, closer to the exit of the hall. Frisk, with their high curiosity and desire to explore, shoved their hand onto the wall forcefully near the claw marks. Their hand phased through the wall. Frisk fell onto shallow grass that seemed to silence their fall. Interesting, they thought. The human got up and continued down the newfound skinny path until seeing a blue glow coming from an area up ahead. Frisk ran forward and came across a view they would never forget.

*Woah.*


	3. Star Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (this is not a summary lol)  
> I started something before Chapter 2 was published, but didn't finish in time, which I should have easily seen before I set the publish date.
> 
> I didn't bother to do any shading or too much detail LOL. (I also forgot to add Starsoul's eye wisp but we'll ignore that for now)
> 
> And yes, I know Frisk the human isn't the best.
> 
> But anyways, enjoy the art and enjoy the chapter!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Three - Star Story
> 
> Author: Blizzard
> 
> Loading story...

**A/N: Here's my art for Chapter 2!**

**And now on to the chapter!**

*I've never been here before,* Frisk breathed as they stepped into the isolated field. Bright blue Echo Flowers dotted the landscape before them, lighting the area up with an eerie glow. Blue sparks floated around in the air and lingered around the flowers growing on the swampy floor.

"Neat, huh?" Starsoul whispered into Frisk's ear, making the human jump. At that same instant, the snowy cat monster shot a paw up to her muzzle in a sign to tell Frisk to be quiet. "Don't make any loud noises, or the Echo Flowers will hear."

Frisk looked at Starsoul confusedly. *What could be so important that you want me to be quiet around the flowers?* They asked quietly. *And why are you in here with me?*

Starsoul glanced at the ground for a split second before she looked out at the subjects in question. Her eyes flicked back to Frisk. "You know what? Lemme just show you." She smoothly slunk into the field, weaved between tall grasses and muddy puddles. Then she stopped at a flower beyond the obstacles.

She turned and aimed her eyes at the human. "Come on! What are you waiting for?" She beckoned with a flick of her tail.

Frisk gulped, then trudged into the grass and mud, trying their best to be quiet. Echo Flowers could pick up any loud sound from a few feet away if they were disturbed.

By the time Frisk was finished bumbling through the unfamiliar territory, Starsoul was sitting patiently with her tail tucked around her paws. Her face showed no emotion as Frisk shook all the mud off their shoes and pants, and plucked weeds out of their shirt.

At last Frisk got rid of all the gunk on their outfit and shuffled quickly next to Starsoul, who had kept the same neutral face as she did while she watched the human dust themselves off.

*What do you want to show me with the Echo Flowers?* Frisk whispered.

Starsoul turned towards the glowing flower, lifted a blue paw, and tapped it lightly. Suddenly, the monster's voice projected through the flower.

_Log number one._

_Greetings. I'm new to Snowdin, Waterfall, and by extension, the entire Underground. I uh... fell... quite a while ago. I'm lucky to have met Toriel, Sans, and Papyrus. I like these Echo Flowers... it seems like you can say something to them and they'll record it and repeat it when touched again. Kinda like a voice recorder. And it seems like I'm going to be staying here a while, so I guess I'll record another by tomorrow. Cya._

Frisk blinked as the Echo Flower grew quiet. They turned to Starsoul. *You... recorded in here?*

"Yup," Starsoul replied with a slight nod, "ever since I fell down here and found this place."

*Wait, you _fell?!_ * Frisk gasped aloud. *I thought you lived down here!*

"I _do_ live down here," Starsoul replied. "I just... took a long fall to get here, I guess." Then she suddenly whipped around and directly aligned her dead-serious gaze at Frisk. " _And then you ruined it all with your so-called 'genocide route.' Murderer._ "

The human instinctively shrunk back. Looking straight into Starsoul's eyes, one white, one blue, it... reminded Frisk of Sans during their battle in the Last Corridor.

They gulped. *You remind me of Sans,* they dared to say.

Starsoul drew back. "Good for both of us, then." She walked further away from Frisk and into the middle of the Echo Flower field, tail lashing, head low. Frisk relaxed, but something inside them squirmed. They knew they unsettled Starsoul by killing everyone in the last timeline, but they were still curious as to how this monster still _remembered_ that timeline like Sans did.

The human took quiet steps to the next Echo Flower and brushed their hand lightly over one of the petals. It began to resonate with Starsoul's voice.

_Log number two._

_Hi again, Waterfall. Papyrus told me it's a good idea to start logging in my day-to-day activities in these Echo Flowers. He said it's better to hear anyone else's story than to hear skeleton puns all day from the flowers. A dummy could easily guess who puts all the jokes in the flowers, hehe._

_So I guess this is kinda going to be a tradition or something for me now. A new tradition. Almost like my hangouts with friends on the surface._

Somehow hearing it made Frisk even more curious about Starsoul's life and want to listen to every flower's log. But they knew they didn't have enough time to listen to them all.

They decided to skip ahead several flowers and lightly tapped another petal.

_Log number ten._

_What kind of instrument does a skeleton with a blue hoodie play? Trombone! Ha!_

_Yeah, I know it's not funny. But who would've guessed that lazy Sans the skeleton actually plays trombone? Papyrus may call it incidental, but I personally think it's kinda neat that I've finally met another trombone player. Although I'm sure Sans only plays it for the puns._

_Maybe someday we'll get Papyrus to play it, who NOSE? Haha!_

_I think Sans' puns are rubbing off on me._

Frisk snorted, to their surprise, when they heard the last line. It was whispered in a cautious tone, as if the monster-cat was keeping it a secret. Well, secret no longer.

The human looked ahead at the rest of the flowers that were scattered about. Starsoul was nowhere to be seen within Frisk's line of sight.

*Where did she go...* Frisk whispered to themselves, scanning the area. They thought they saw a flash of white in the distance somewhere, and turned towards that direction, carefully walking along the narrow path laid out in front of them. A hand brushed against another flower along the path on accident, and another message was projected:

_Log number sixteen._

_Hey, that's my favorite number. I'm not sure why everyone on the Undernet thinks that's my birthdate. "Oh hey IceCat16, was your birthday really in 2X16?" "NO. That's just my favorite number." I feel like I have to put that on my bio now._

_Speaking of the Undernet, Papyrus finally showed me what it is. It's kinda like this Internet I heard of a couple times before that humans use on the surface. My family had only heard of it once, being some sort of a "search browser," whatever that is. A former friend used to tell me it was a method of entertainment. But seriously, who needs this Internet for entertainment when all you can do is climb up a mountain and watch sunsets with your best friend instead?_

_I feel kinda foolish now. I see why humans use their Internet instead of climbing mountains. If the Internet is anything like the Undernet. Wow._

_Guess I'll talk to ya later. I'm kinda in a good mood today._

_I also need to finish checking all these crazy follow requests on my Undernet account. There's too much of this "spam."_

Frisk stood there thoughtfully before looking for Starsoul again. _She's never lived with humans then,_ they thought. _But monsters have lived underground for years. How can Starsoul know what the surface is like_ and _be a monster at the same time?_

The human let this thought linger as they squelched further along the curved path ahead, attempting to find the cat-monster once again. After walking a few good feet they stopped to take a rest and listen to another Echo Flower.

_Log number twenty-three._

_Ugh, that number's cursed. It doesn't bring back good memories from the surface. I should find a way to deal away with it. Like filling up this log with unnecessary information. Like how I hate the number twenty-three. I want this number to be over._

_I mean, I know I'm aware that I'm wasting an Echo Flower on this (sorry dear Echo Flower), and by extension, a log, but it's not like I'm limited to creating only one log per day._

Hmm. So Starsoul hated the number twenty-three... _Could that be the date she fell? Considering she didn't have good memories of the surface on that day at one point?_ Frisk tilted their head as they walked on. _Maybe I'll ask her next time I get the chance._

They took their "next chance" to rest and listened to another Echo Flower's recording after passing about ten more flowers.

_Log number thirty-two._

_Oh hey, that's sixteen times two. Not "two" bad. (Sorry Papyrus, if you're listening.)_

_I'm learning gravity augmentation now, and I can certainly say that it is very challenging. Sans just makes it look like a piece of cake. You have to focus on the enemy's SOUL and keep an eye on your own at the same time. If your own SOUL isn't stable, then you can't control your magic. Summoning blue attacks is good enough, but controlling another being's soul? Especially a monster's soul? (When it's not Undyne's?)_

_SANS, WHY._

*So that's what it's like to fight with blue soul magic,* Frisk whispered to themselves, memories of their battle with Sans flashing in their mind.

They swiveled around after a moment and nearly yelped as they took a wrong step and slipped on a wet blade of grass. Their arm brushed over the petal of another flower as they fell, and right after they landed, another message was heard.

_Log number forty-two._

_Today was the day that everyone finally (yes, finally) decided to call me by some name. I'm not sure when they finally decided to freak out over not having some sort of nickname for me or something (like Sans attempted once, he nearly went blind when he did), but they did take an awfully long time to do that._

_Undyne suggested Throwingstar. I mean, I can see why, thanks for the input, Captain, but no thank you. Papyrus just shrugged and continued to call me Snowy. I do like snow, but other than Papyrus trying to call me "ONE WITH A HUMAN SOUL," that's better than nothing._

_I tried to go back to the Ruins to see Toriel and ask her as well, since everyone else was trying to identify my name, but when I knocked at the door she didn't answer. Welp. That's another attempt lost. I don't know how Sans does it, maybe they have something called a schedule._

_And speaking of Sans, he finally grew a brain in that empty skull of his. I actually prefer his suggestion._

_He called me Starsoul. I can see and feel why._

_Thanks, knucklehead._

Frisk waited before getting up again, deep in thought. They certainly didn't think of other monsters Starsoul could have ties to. Captain Undyne of the Royal Guard... Dr. Alphys, the smart yet nervous Royal Scientist... heck, even Mettaton, annoying as he was, were all probably friends with Starsoul. If Starsoul had ever met King Asgore, though, Frisk wasn't entirely sure.

\--------------------------------------------------------

"okay, here we go." Sans took one step ahead and teleported in a flash of blue sparks. The pudgy skeleton landed his pink slipper in Undyne's living room, right next to the dining table.

The fish warrior in question was brewing her tea at the kitchen counter, and stopped as she heard a familiar "'sup?" from behind.

"Sans the skeleton, what the HECK ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!" Undyne screamed as she turned around, raising her voice and nearly spraying hot tea at the shorter monster.

"whoa, undyne," Sans started, taking a step back and raising his hands in front of him in a defensive stance, "i just wanted to stop by and say hello. i mean, can't an old friend drop by the house of the captain of the royal guard and talk with them about something _fishy_ on his mind?" He tried his best to hold his laughter in.

Undyne made a face at Sans as soon as the pun slipped past his dorky skeleton smile before her expression changed and she lowered her tea kettle. "Wait a minute. You said 'fishy,' in which you know something's up, don't you?"

"yup, got that right," Sans replied, flashing pointing hands at Undyne, who rolled her eyes at the gesture.

"Does this have anything to do with Papyrus?" The fish monster asked as she squinted at Sans.

"bingo," Sans answered, his face turning serious at the mention of his brother. "in fact, it's got everything to do with papyrus."

Undyne stared at Sans. "We're going to need Starsoul's help again, aren't we?"

"yes ma'am," Sans sighed, putting his hands back into his pockets.

"Then what are you waiting for, ya punk? Tell me the story! And don't you dare leave out a single detail!"

\-----------------------------------------------

On and on as they walked and stopped to listen, a new chapter in Starsoul's story opened up to Frisk. Even if they did miss a lot of logs in between. They knew they probably didn't have much time, but they listened to whatever they could.

_Log number fifty._

_Log number fifty-eight._

_Log number sixty-one._

Then Frisk heard the same voice, but clearer. They ducked their head and honed in on the voice's origin.

Sure enough, Starsoul sat a few feet away from Frisk, her tail-tip twitching behind her. Her claws constantly sheathed and unsheathed, as if she was either itching for a fight or impatient. And to the human's utter astonishment, Starsoul was recording a log.

"Log number sixty-six.

I can't believe the previous log was deleted.

Erased.

I swear, that human... Frisk, Sans calls them?

I want to kill them really badly.

I know they might as well hear this and I'm sure they're aware that the animosity between us will not falter.

Sigh.

Sans, you idiot...

They killed you in the last timeline. And you still choose to forgive them.

I'm starting to doubt your life choices. (And I know you're an undead skeleton.)

But I still trust you.

Don't make me stand by and watch as you die again.

If you do I'll never trust you again.

And while I'm on the topic of trust... that human is VERY untrustworthy.

They killed everyone and then reset.

...

Wait. Something's wrong.

My soul.

where's my... de...

...you know, maybe Sans can help me figure it out. I won't bother you, whoever might be listening to this, with it.

Especially not Frisk.

My soul is none of your business."

Frisk's head swarmed with questions as they tried their best to stay quiet. Her gaze flitted immediately behind her and her head suddenly snapped towards Frisk.

The human gulped and tried to back away, but their limbs just seemed glued to the ground. Or something other than their limbs...

Frisk dared to look down at their soul.

It had turned a shade of bright blue.

Starsoul's expression grew dark as she spoke again, this time directly at the human. "I _know_ you have determination, _Frisk._ I can feel it in your soul, and my own. You have the power to RESET the entire timeline underground in your hands. _And you chose to abuse it._ "

Frisk shuddered. _So they know I can reset... how does she know of the power anyways?_

As if the thought had summoned it, Starsoul's paw lashed out, the pads facing upwards, and released the blue magic's hold on Frisk's bright red soul, launching both of them into the attack interface and bringing the soul towards the paw.

However, instead of fighting, Starsoul stood there, claws unsheathed, studying Frisk's soul. Her gaze flickered with interest as the bright red heart shone at her paws. She poked it once with a blue claw, making Frisk flinch a little before remembering that blue attacks don't do any harm if their soul wasn't moving.

After a long while of poking and prodding Starsoul finally stopped and released Frisk's soul. The attack boundaries disappeared.

"So." Starsoul's low voice seemed to resonate with the magic of the Echo Flowers around them. "You've heard my logs."

"Yes," Frisk breathed, glad to finally exhale.

Starsoul tilted her head. "And you've heard my whole story."

Frisk gulped as they cautiously responded, "Well, not all of it, but I think I heard the major logs."

Starsoul seemed to raise a brow as she continued her query. "So you know who I am."

Frisk paused before answering. "Not exactly."

Starsoul nodded her head. "Very well." She flicked her tail as she turned another way, beckoning the human to follow. "Let's get out of here before Sans suspects anything."

Frisk nodded and followed the white shape through the Echo Flowers to another exit that led to more grasses. As the two emerged, Starsoul led Frisk straight towards Undyne's fish-shaped house and rapped a blue paw loudly on the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So that's it for this chapter! I'm sorry it took so long to read (and write), I tried to cut it down as much as I could. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love writing long chapters, but even I have a limit as to how much I feel is enough for a chapter.
> 
> Like this chapter; without all the author's notes it amounts up to a total of 2,790 words. Holy cow.
> 
> I won't hold you for any longer, hope you enjoyed the chapter! Keep your eyes out for Chapter 4 in the future!
> 
> Cya and peace out!


	4. The Plan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry for the wait! Long chapter of 2909 words, not including this note. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--------------------------------
> 
> Chapter Four - The Plan
> 
> Author: Flake
> 
> Loading story...
> 
> \-------------------------------

“Who’s there? We’re discussing something important!” Undyne yelled at the door. She walked up to the round doorway and kicked open the door with a loud “NGAHHH!”, resulting in Starsoul getting a foot to her face [-1 HP] and a broken door. Cold sweat ran down the fish monster’s face. She grinned nervously. “H-hey Starsoul. How’s it going?”

“Not so well,” she deadpanned, “and even more so because of that kick.” She licked a paw and rubbed it down her muzzle.

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. We have a more important matter to discuss.”

“i guess you could say that we have to go to great LENGTHS to resolve this large problem we have since the FOOT to your face made your day worse.” Sans shrugged and winked from inside of the house. Undyne shot a look at him before turning towards Starsoul. 

“Come in. We have a lot to discuss and decide on, and fast. You too, human.” Both nodded and followed Undyne into her house, leaving the pieces of her door outside. Sans was seen at the table, already seated. Frisk, Starsoul, and Undyne joined him and sat down. The fish monster suddenly slammed the table.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?? THERE IS AN UNFAMILIAR MONSTER AND A GHOST OF A HUMAN THAT HAVE PAPYRUS?” 

“yep,” Sans replied.

“But how? And why? One is a ghost, and the other looks like Starsoul here. How would they be able to capture such a tall skeleton like him?”

“There were red and black tentacles that grabbed him from behind when he was about to greet me,” Frisk said. Starsoul nodded.

“Octopus?!”

Frisk looked at Undyne in a concerned way. “No, a cat. With tentacles.”

“A cat with tentacles… An octopus with cat ears and whiskers that has the ability to change its colors.”

“No. A cat with tentacles that does not look like an octopus.”

“A cat with eight legs like an octopus? And a beak?”

“No, not like that. A cat silhouette. With tentacles.”

“How does that work?”

“Just imagine a dark colored cat with, uh, things growing out from behind them.”

“Then what’s with the tentacles? I can’t picture that at all.”

“Don’t ask us,” Frisk said. “By the way, my name is Frisk. You’re Undyne, right?”

“Yeah, but how did you know? I don’t recall anyone ever saying my name earlier.” Frisk mentally facepalmed at their own slip-up and tried to quickly come up with an excuse, but they were interrupted by another question.

“Wait why aren’t we trying to take your soul right now? We only need one more human soul to be free.” Blue magic spears appeared around the room. Frisk braced themselves.

Sighing, Starsoul said, “The human knows about the ghost and says that they will not threaten monsterkind. Also, I think Sans told Frisk about you and how you are the captain of the royal guard.” She looked towards the short skeleton. “Right?”

“yeah,” he stated, nodding. Undyne sighed.

“Fine. In any case, we should let the others know. That pair of weirdos might be up to something.” They all nodded and thought for a moment. 

Starsoul lit up. “How about we all go to Dr. Alphys and see what she has to say about this? There’s a chance that she knows a little more than we do.” Everyone agreed. They all stood up and walked to the door, stepping over the white remnants of Undyne’s door and leaving the fish-shaped house to cry alone once again. As the group navigated through the tunnel between Waterfall and Hotland, Starsoul hung back a bit and took a look at her soul. It glowed a beautiful azure, the light resonating with brilliance in the warm air and orange surroundings.

“It seems like it’s not just determination that’s missing,” she mumbled, “although my soul looks perfectly fine… Why do I feel different?”

Sans looked back. “ hey starsoul. something on your mind?”

“Nothing much.” She flashed a hasty smile before hurrying to catch up with the rest of the team. They emerged from the tunnel to see the all-familiar Hotland and its puzzles. Undyne took a look at the black steam tiles and sighed.

“Here we go, guys. Follow me,” she said, pointing to herself with a thumb. She wielded an evaporating cup of water on the other hand, in which she quickly downed and threw off to the side. Frisk watched the cup slowly turn into thin air and remembered how they could not bring that one cup of water into another area in Hotland. They put their hands together and silently prayed, whispering, “Rest in peace, cup.”

Sans formed an “F” with hot dogs and placed them on the ground near where the cup vaporized. He also silently prayed. Starsoul sat down near Frisk and put her forepaws together. Undyne looked at them in a weird way before deciding to ignore this.

Then the hot dogs vaporized. They prayed harder. Frisk scratched an “F” into the ground with a stick. The fish monster tried desperately to ignore this yet again. “What’s wrong with them? Evaporating stuff in Hotland is normal…” She wondered. Undyne took a deep breath and yelled, “Hey, guys! You coming or not?” She had cleared the puzzle while the others were meme-ing. To her disappointment, it continued.

Frisk looked over. “Guys, we should catch up.”

“Yeah, we should.” Starsoul turned to the puzzle and thought about being flung around by steam tiles before looking at Sans. “Can you teleport us over there?”

“sure can.” With a snap of his bony fingers, they appeared next to Undyne. 

“Why can’t you just teleport us to Alphys?” Frisk asked. Sans shrugged.

“too lazy.” The group of four continued through Hotland until they reached Alphys’s house. Frisk pogged. Stasoul and Sans both wheezed. Undyne just walked past them and knocked on the door.

“Alph? You there?”

“I-I’m here! Give me one s-second!” A monster yelled from behind the door. The fish woman replied with an “Okay!” and dedicated all of her focus to the white, durable door in front of her. Behind her, Sans had somehow found a final froggit and was telling it to try to ride a unicycle he made with bones, hot dogs, and magic. Frisk and Starsoul cheered.

There were a few crashes, screeches and screams that came from the lab before the small yellow dinosaur opened the white door to her lab with her signature lab coat on. “Come on in!” she said, chipper. Starsoul, Frisk, and Sans waved goodbye to the confused frog and shuffled into the lab behind Undyne. The doors closed, and there was an awkward silence.

Alphys took it upon herself to break the quiet environment. “So. Uh. What’s going on? Isn’t that a human?”

“Yeah, I’m a human. My name is Frisk.” Frisk said politely.

“And why are you here with the others?”

“There’s a big problem, and this human is willing to help,” Starsoul stated.

Sans nodded. “two figures kidnapped my bro. one is the ghost of a human, and the other is a cat monster we’ve never seen before.”

“Do you have any idea on what is going on?” Undyne finished. 

Alphys thought for a bit before saying, “What does the cat one look like?”

“OCTOPUS CAT!” the fish warrior yelled.

“W-what?” Alphys tried to picture a cat with an octopus head and legs. The result was an awful image.

“Undyne, it was just a cat that looked like a red-tinted me and had a few red and black tentacles,” Starsoul said, holding in a laugh.

Alphys thought some more before shaking her head and frowning. “I don’t know about any monster that looks like that. The closest monster I can think of is Onion-san, but they are definitely not cat-like. Sorry.” She looked at the group of people. “Are we the only ones that know about this?” They nodded. The yellow monster started panicking. “Oh gosh, we need to tell the others! Muffet, Asgore, the Queen, Mettaton… they’re all in danger!”

“yeah. have any suggestions on how to get to them quickly?” Sans asked.

“I think splitting up would be the most efficient.” Alphys hurried up the escalator and grabbed a map of the Underground before coming back down. She rushed to the cluttered desk, putting down the map before shuffling around the papers and clearing out some space. Then she spread the paper out on the brown surface. Readjusting her glasses, she pointed at the two paths going away from her lab. “One group will go toward New Home since the capital is quite big, and the other group will go toward the other main areas of the Underground. Let’s see…” She glanced around at the people here; Undyne, Frisk, Starsoul, Sans, and herself. “Starsoul and Sans can go towards the ruins. Undyne, Frisk and I can go to Asgore and make sure the six souls are alright. Is that okay with all of you?”

“Actually, may I go to the ruins with Sans and Starsoul? There is something I want to make sure of there,” Frisk said quickly. Alphys looked a little unsure.

“W-well, I said you were with me and Undyne because I’m not very s-strong, and can’t do much to help Undyne, but I guess you can go with the other group.” She sighed. 

Undyne flinched and yelled, “Hey! I can take care of us, since I’m the captain of the Royal Guard! I am determined to protect you and the whole Underground!” She flexed her biceps and lifted up the messy table with a wide smile, her sharp teeth clearly showing. Everyone in the room slightly backed away from the table to avoid the small shower of papers that fell off of the desk. A pair of white gloves picked one up.

“Darling, you should put that down before you drop any more papers~” a robotic voice sounded out. “Oh dear. Could this be fanart by our favorite scientist?” Alphys started sweating.

“H-hey!” the yellow scientist shouted frantically. “That’s private! Don’t touch that!” The glove-wearer waved it around in the air. Alphys ran after it, following the robotic voice up the escalator.

“quick! behind that conveniently-shaped lamp!” Sans said to Frisk while the chase was on, pointing toward a lamp that should have been in the snowy region of the Underground. Frisk ran behind it and stood still right before Alphys and the newcomer went down the other escalator. The remaining monsters turned to see a square robot on one wheel. The square of lights on its face formed an “M” in red squares surrounded by yellow ones. It suddenly turned into a heart.

“Oh, Alphys dear! My favorite scientist! Here is your art back” it exclaimed, rolling toward her at an alarming speed. It stopped right before her and bowed with the two arms it had extended out to her with the paper.

“Mettaton,” Alphys said, nervous as she took it. Undyne looked at the robot, dumbfounded.

“Is that the robot you mentioned over our call once?” she said. Alphys nodded.

“Hi Mettaton! What are you doing here?” Starsoul greeted him. 

“Oh, Starsoul! Salutations! I am merely here because I sensed something that made me want to take my chainsaws out!” Mettaton spoke, shrugging.

“And what might that be?” the cat asked, flicking her tail.

Mettaton pointed toward the conveniently shaped lamp with flourish. “The human behind that lamp!”

“Yep! Thaaaat’s me! I’m Frisk, nice to meet you, Mettaton!” Frisk exclaimed, shooting finger guns at the robot and winking. Alphys sweat-dropped. The robot’s lights went back into an “M” shape as it suddenly whipped out a microphone. Lab dimming in brightness, a spotlight shined on the robot. Somehow.

“Well, I guess it is time for a quiz show!” Mettaton ushered Sans, Starsoul, Undyne, and Alphys toward the door with the bathroom sign above it and rolled over to Frisk, near the messy table. “Question one!

“Who am I? A: Mettaton. B: Mettaton. C: Mettaton. D: Mettaton.” The robot spun on its single wheel and bowed. Frisk peeked at Alphys, but only got a confused face as a reply. The human yelled out the first letter that came to mind out of the four.

“Correct! Fabulous!” Mettaton swiveled to a stop and gave an applause, confetti from the sky falling onto Frisk. They looked up to see a whimsun showering the small colorful papers onto them, a large basket of them being carried by a whimsalot nearby. “Question two!” The voice brought Frisk’s attention back to the robot.

“What type of monster is this? A: Aaron. B: Snowdrake. C: Final Froggit. D: Knight Knight.” The large screen to the left suddenly flickered and showed a shadow of a certain monster. It had a horse-like head and a tail. Frisk thought for a moment, knowing that Mettaton would add trick questions into his quizzes. They looked to Alphys with a questioning look. She signaled a “B” with her hands. Beside her, Starsoul was nodding. Frisk glanced at the screen. How was that a snowdrake? That was an aaron, wasn’t it? The horse and seahorse combination of a monster was really hard to forget. The flexing and sweat attacks were all quite traumatizing. Remembering the encounters with an aaron made them seem like horsing around in comparison to the problem they had now with Chara and the new enemy. They decided to take the chance and say what they believed.

“A?”

“Wrong! It was B, snowdrake!” Mettaton announced. The shadow image lit up to show a bunch of mini images of snowdrakes forming a shape that seemed like an aaron. Frisk mentally facepalmed. Of course it was a trick question. “Now for your punishment, darling~” The human braced themselves. A large beam of energy from… somewhere was fired at Frisk, dealing lots of damage to their small amount of health [-7 HP]. They reached for any type of food in their pocket, only to realize that they haven’t picked up anything that could help them recover. They ran to the fridge, but only got a few steps forward before Mettaton blocked the way. “No instant noodles from Alphys’ fridge allowed. Question three!

“How are you still alive? A: You had enough health. B: Your defense was enough to help you survive that energy beam. C: You were so determined that you managed to stop yourself from dying. D: I didn’t use my best shot of energy.” Frisk looked toward Alphys and the others. They signalled D. The human looked back at Mettaton and opened their mouth to say their answer, but was interrupted. With crossed arms, the square robot asked, “Alphys, are you giving our contestant answers?”

“Uhm… maybe?”

Mettaton let out a robotic sigh. “Oh dear, looks like our quiz show is ruined. The only thing that will entertain our audience now must be the prize, so congrats, human! You won!” He clapped his hands with glee. Frisk let out a sigh of relief. They wouldn’t be burnt to death today.

“Here it is!” The quiz host shouted! Reaching behind him, he whipped out a chainsaw. Frisk made an “of course there’s a twist” face and started running away, Mettaton rolling closely after them. “Come back here, darling! We need your organs for the cake, which is your prize!” The human continued running for their life. Rounds and rounds they made around the lab, Frisk’s shouts for help and Mettaton’s laughter filling the air.

“how long do you bet they’ll be at this? I bet one minute with all of the G i have,” sans said, smiling at Starsoul, Undyne, and Alphys.

“I bet 50G that they’ll be done as soon as I join the fray!” Undyne flexed her… everything.

“I bet 10G that they’ll be done in a few seconds,” Starsoul suggested.

“I bet nothing and will not participate in this bet,” Alphys snickered. They waited a moment before Mettaton abruptly stopped on the escalator on the left.

“As much as I want to spill your blood all over the place, human,” Mettaton said, looking around at the monsters present, “why isn’t anyone else doing that already?”

Starsoul smirked. “I win.” Undyne handed over 50G, a disappointed look on her face (“I didn’t even get the chance to stop them…”). The cat monster looked to Sans. “How much do you have?”

“i’m flat broke,” Sans commented, shrugging.

“Wow, that’s a FLAT statement.” Starsoul winked.

“no need for it to be SHARP,” the skeleton said, his smile widening. Both of them giggled.

Mettaton watched in silence. “Erm, excuse me?” They looked up. “Like I said, why isn’t anyone killing the human?”

Sans rose his hand, just like a student in school. Mettaton pointed at the skeleton. “You! In the blue sweater!”

“so basically…” 

...  
One explanation later, the robot stood there, thinking. “I see. I can go with Alphys and Undyne, and Frisk can head to the Ruins with Sans and Starsoul. That good?” Everyone nodded. They got in their groups, said their “see you soon”s, and headed off in the directions they were assigned to.

Undyne took one last look at the other group, ready to announce the loudest “SEE YA SOON!” in the world. She immediately turned back and quickly walked toward the door. “Alphys, Mettaton? Let’s go.”

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you going to say bye?” Alphys asked.

“No… they’re too busy memeing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Blizzard: Psst here's a bonus comparison image. No need to thank me XD


End file.
